Although most of the 6.1-acre site includes city-owned land, Crown Commercial Real Estate and Development principal Musa Tadros has acquired three of 10 privately-owned parcels, and has contracts on two more. Negotiations continue with the remaining five property owners, says department of planning and development project manager Karen Forte.

Tadros, whose retail developments include Chatham Village Square at 87th Street and Cottage Grove Avenue, was the only developer to respond by the department's Jan. 21 deadline for proposals, Forte says. The city hopes to see a full-service grocery store, a sit-down restaurant and branch bank among the retail tenants at Roseland Plaza, which has been closed for several years. Tadros operated a grocery store at Roseland Plaza from 1982 to 1991, embarking on his real estate career when he got his broker's license in 1992, Forte says. Tadros' holdings include a store occupied by Hollywood Video across the street from his proposed development.

Already, Tadros has identified 35 potential tenants for his project, which he suggests will likely include a grocery store ranging from 20,000 sf to 70,000 sf, a drug store and bank. "I've been speaking a numerous national and regional tenants," Tadros says. "They'd all be credit-worthy tenants."